SO WHO’S ON THE PLANE?

Lawrence Booth analyses the conundrums facing England’s selectors this week

THE OPENER

IF you haven’t been Alastair Cook’s opening partner in Test cricket over the past five years, you haven’t lived. Mark Stoneman is the 12th since Andrew Strauss’s retirement in 2012, despite averaging only 30 against West Indies. But he did receive a couple of unplayable deliveries, and alternatives are scarce. Keaton Jennings flopped against South Africa, while Haseeb Hameed’s mediocre summer was topped off on Thursday by a broken finger. Inked in: Mark Stoneman

In the wings: Keaton Jennings, Haseeb Hameed

NoS 3 AND 5

TOM WESTLEY waits to discover whether his unbeaten 44 at Lord’s to seal England’s 2-1 win over West Indies was anything more than cricket’s answer to the dead-cat bounce. But what do they do if they can’t persuade Joe Root to move up to No 3? Alex Hales, last tried in Test cricket in August 2016 as an opener, could come into the middle order, and Root remains a fan of Gary Ballance. Dawid Malan is no gimme, either, despite a pair of 60s against West Indies. Inked in: No one

In the wings: Tom Westley, Gary Ballance, Alex Hales

THE WICKETKEEPER

WHO steps in if Jonny Bairstow breaks a thumb? Jos Buttler insists his Test ambitions still burn bright, although a lucrative Twenty20 gig in Bangladesh awaits if the selectors ignore him. And they may well do just that: the uncapped Ben Foakes has been on their radar for some time, and has averaged nearly 45 in Division One for Surrey this season. Inked in: Jonny Bairstow In the wings: Ben Foakes, Jos Buttler

THE SECOND SPINNER

OFF-SPINNERS have usually struggled in Australia, so Moeen Ali may need all the help he can get — but England may battle to find room for a second spinner, especially now that Sydney no longer turns as it once did. Adil Rashid’s Test star has waned, but Hampshire leg-spinner Mason Crane looked as if he had the temperament for international cricket during two T20 appearances against South Africa this summer. Inked in: Moeen Ali

In the wings: Mason Crane, Adil Rashid Outsiders: Jack Leach, Ollie Rayner

SEAMERS

THE situation has been complicated by the stress fracture Toby Roland-Jones picked up playing for Middlesex, while Mark Wood needs to prove his fitness for Durham after injuring his heel in the summer when he placed the wrong insoles in his boots. Jake Ball’s height and bounce could prove useful, and a real bolt from the blue would be Sussex leftarm quick George Garton, who is highly rated by England’s lead fast-bowling coach Kevin Shine.

Inked in: Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes

In the wings: Toby Roland-Jones, Jake Ball, Mark Wood, Steve Finn

Outsiders: George Garton, Tom Helm